SECOND TEST VS SOUTH AFRICA

By Srian Obeyesekere

Despite the humiliating first test defeat, everything is not lost for Sri Lanka in the running to the now alluring ultimate of the World Test Championship that has come to galvanise test cricket when they take on South Africa at
St George’s Park in Gqeberha.

There is a lingering ray of hope for Dhananjaya de Silva and his charges of making it to the finals provided they beat the Proteas in this test as well as Australia in the two tests on their next assignments.

It is indeed a ray of hope with a chance lying there of aking to a ship wading through an iceberg.

But the game of cricket is such of the toughest surviving and the lesson for the Lankan batters to take that the game is all about only disciplined batting. In that perspective, it is high time Sri Lankans threw out of the window the habit impetuousness of flashing their bats at anything which is nothing but a bad unprofessional trait.

From a South African perspective victory here will put them close to the finals from their current second placing with 5 wins from 10 games.

Sri Lanka currently lies fourth in the WTC rankings with 5 wins from 10 in an intensified gallop that sees Australia third placed with 8 wins from 13 while India leads the pack.

In that backdrop, Dhananjaya de Silva’s frontline batsmen will be relieved that the St. George’s surface fast friendly as it will be to fast bowlers that it is somewhat to subcontinent levels with the ball not running high unlike at Kingsmead where stroke making would be easier.